Always and Forever
by swimming-toon-lover
Summary: Ash recieves a mysterious note telling him to go into the future. With all his old friends around him, Ash must do his best, to save the timeline, and more importantly, himself.Pokeshipping and contestshipping...or is it? Rating changed for kinda death-is
1. the note

**Swim season is over, so I'm back wooo!!!!! It's been a super long time, and I hope you'll like this new idea I have. I've been writing this story for awhile now. If any of you are still waiting for my other stories…I'm really sorry, but I have misplaced my notebook, so when I find it, I'll get some stuff up. I don't own pokemon…**

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Always and Forever

Ch.1- the note

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It was another bright, gorgeous day in Sinnoh, and Ash, Dawn, Brock, and Pikachu were strolling into a town, heading for the Pokemon center.

"Sure will be nice to call my mom again, we were in that forest for like, ever!" Dawn complained. Ash and Brock just laughed, having gotten used to being away from home for a long time by now.

"Welcome!" Nurse Joy beamed at them from behind the desk.

"Hi, may I use the phone?" Nurse Joy nodded, and Dawn bounded away.

"Ah, hello Nurse Joy, and may I just say that you are the most beautiful Joy I have seen. And I've seen a lot you can be sure, my name is Brock,"

"So that means you must be Ash Ketchum then?" Joy cut him off, and Brock fell over.

"Uh, yeah I am." Ash said stepping forward.

"I have a message for you." She pulled an envelope out.

"Who's it from?" Brock asked, standing up.

"Doesn't say, maybe it's on the inside." Ash ripped open the envelope to see a handwritten note.

TO Ash Ketchum: URGENT

If you are reading this, the worst has happened, and you must follow these instructions to the letter.

Gather together May, Max, and Misty, and return with them to Arborville, and the forest of the Celebi. When the Celebi comes, it will take you Ash alone 10 years into the future. I will explain more when I see you. Time is short; your life depends on it.

Until we meet,

M.K.

"M.K.?" Ash said. "Who's M,"

"The future?!" Brock cut across him.

"What's the worst do you think Brock? Maybe the world was taken over by robots or something." Ash said thoughtfully. Dawn hit him over the head as she returned.

"Why are you talking about robots?"

"No time." Brock said, apparently getting way more into this than the others. "Ash we need to call Misty, and find May, and Max. It's a long way." Ash nodded.

"Right," he said as he headed for the phone.

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"Ash, hi, I haven't heard from you in awhile." Misty beamed at him through the video phone. "I was starting to think you forgot about me." She narrowed her eyes, though playfully.

"I could never forget about you Mist." They both blushed faintly, and Brock grinned. Dawn had been banned from the room for this exact reason.

"Listen, I got this letter from the future that told me to get a bunch of us together and go to the forest with the Celebi."

Misty looked confused. "Have you hit your head recently?"

Ash had an anime fall over freak out.

"It's all true Misty," Brock said, holding up the letter. Misty squinted at it, then her eyes widened.

"I'll meet up with you in Jhoto when you go find May." She said.

"But-" Ash began, but the screen went black.

"Can I come back now that I missed all the cute romantic stuff?" Dawn called, peeking around the corner.

"THERE IS NO ROMANTIC STUFF!" Ash shouted, turning red almost instantly. He had just realized that usually Misty would have been yelling too, but now he was the only one shouting.

"Pika." Said the little pokemon shaking it's head and looking down.

"Sheesh, sorry," Dawn said. "Didn't realize you'd get so defensive over your _'best friend'_." She stressed the last two words sarcastically and used air quotes, grinning mischievously. As usual he didn't fully understand, but he got it enough to turn pink and laugh sheepishly.

"Well, now I guess we just need to figure out how to get to Jhoto." Brock said.

"No need to worry guys, my uncle owns the blimp company. Anywhere we wanna go, Uncle Drake will be glad to take us." Dawn said proudly.

"Well that's convenient." Ash said. "Alright, let's go!"

_Meanwhile in Cerulean City…_

Misty was packing her things. She knew they were going to find May, and she knew she had just watched May in the Cherrygrove City contest, so that was where she was going. She threw all her stuff into her red bag and sprinted to the door.

"Bye guys!" she called to her stunned looking sisters.

"Like, where do you think you're going?" Daisy asked, holding Misty back by the hood of the cropped off yellow hoodie she was wearing.

"I'm going to Jhoto to meet up with Ash and everyone."

Daisy let her go as Violet and Lily sniggered.

"Okay, go get him Misty." She was too distracted to notice the jab, and ran off.

"Bye!" she called back over her shoulder.

"It's like so cute she's finally going back to get him!" Violet cooed.

"I'm so proud, out little sister's finally growing up." Daisy added, eyes sparkling with tears.

**So there it is…I hope you all liked it. It's actually a really sorta hard story line, and I'm trying to work out the bugs, so updates might be a bit slow, but I'll try… PLEASE REVIEW!!! **

**STL **


	2. together again

**OMG I'M BAAAAAAAKKKK!! It has been a good six months since i've updated anything...but i'm back! so you may want to go back and read ch1 again...sorry...but here ya go! i don't own pokemon...or else there would be many more tie ins from previous episodes and movies. (seriously does that not just drive you nuts?)**

Ch2. Together again

It hadn't taken much for Ash, Brock, and Dawn to track down May. T.V. stations had been following her and her mysterious new travel partner all around Jhoto, and they simply took the ferry to the last place they had seen her, and headed toward the next contest. When they finally caught up with her, they were in a forest clearing.

"Hey May, aren't those your old friends running at us?" May's travel partner pointed behind them and she turned around.

"Huh? Oh Ash, Brock!" She waved jubilantly as the pair approached, not taking notice of Dawn. "I was wondering when you would be getting here." The running trio stopped in front of the pair of coordinators.

"Hey May, and… Drew?" Ash looked at May's green haired companion sharply. "How are you guys?"

Both opened their mouths to say "fine" in unison, which was followed by a reddening of their cheeks, and Dawn bounding forward.

"Aww, how cute, another couple!" she cooed gazing starry eyed upon the two. Both May and Drew looked at the unfamiliar girl, shocked.

"WE ARE NOT!" they shouted with enough force to blow Dawn over.

"Who are you anyway?" May snapped as Dawn got up, her hair blown every which way.

"Ah man!" she began to try to flatten it. "My name is Dawn, and I'm going to be the world's top coordinator!" she declared proudly.

"Top coordinator huh?" Drew said, smirking. "Guess you'll have to get through us then." He flicked his hair, but May turned slightly pink realizing he had just indirectly called her a great coordinator.

"How about a battle right here then?" Dawn pulled out a pokeball, but Brock put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hold it there you guys, don't forget we're here for a reason." Dawn reluctantly returned her Pokeball. "May it seemed like you knew we were coming." He added.

"Huh?" May looked confused, but then jumped, suddenly remembering. "Oh yeah, Misty told us all about the letter and stuff. She went ahead to find some water."

"Misty's—already here?" Ash asked, looking bewildered.

"Yep, sure am!" said a bright voice from behind him. He jumped about a foot in the air.

"Ahhh! Mist, you scared me!" he shouted, but Misty had already turned her attention to Pikachu.

"Hi Pikachu, how have you been?" she said, bending down to the little mouse, which squealed happily and leapt into her outstretched arms. "I bet you are excited to see me."

"Pika!"

"Hey, what about me?" Ash mumbled grumpily.

"Same old Ash and Misty." Brock told Dawn, May, and Drew.

"Um, don't we have somewhere to be?" Everyone looked around at the person who had spoken, which to everyone's surprise was Drew.

"Wait, you're not…" Ash began, but he was cut off.

"Oh yes I am, you're going to need someone as skilled as me around. Plus, wherever May goes, I go. Isn't that how this whole travel companion thing works? I mean you guys were always together." They stared at him at a loss for words, except for Dawn who looked like she might burst. Brock clamped a hand firmly over her mouth. Finally he had a job!

"We still have a long way to go, so let's get to it. I've got to save the future!" Ash beamed and started walking ahead in a kind of army march.

"Guess he's the same modest Ash." May and Misty said together, looking exasperated and sweat dropping. They all started walking after him falling into line.


	3. a shock to the system

SO here we go

**SO here we go. This is like the fastest I've ever updated, which is really sad…any who! I don't own pokemon…or misty would be around more!**

**CH.3 A shock to the system**

"Hey guys look, there's Arborville!" May shouted, jumping up and down from her place in line.

"Have you ever been here before?" Drew asked, sounding rather annoyed.

"Of course not! But they said Arborville was the town in the trees outside the forest, and there's a town, outside the forest, and in the trees!" she stuck out her tongue, and he tried to fight back a smile.

"Uh, ok." Ash began. "How are we going to get up there?" The group gazed up at the trees, at a loss for what to do next."

"Hey, up here guys!" A familiar voice shouted from a tree up ahead.

"Was that?" May wondered, shielding her eyes and looking around. "It is! Max, hey what are you doing up there?" she called up to her younger brother.

"I've got the ladder here, climb up!" Max shouted, throwing down a rope ladder. A few minutes later, Misty was the last one to climb up, and they all stood around.

"So, you got the message we left for you?" Brock asked Max.

"Only just barely." The youngest boy answered. "But I did, and I'm here and ready for an adventure! They don't seem to happen as much without you around Ash." He admitted.

"Uh, so it's looking like no one is going to introduce me, so hi, I'm Dawn!" Dawn chirped, bounding up from the back of the group.

"Nice to meet you Dawn." Max replied, shaking the girls hand. "So, Ash, let's see that letter."

Ash handed the now dog eared piece of paper to the bespectacled youth.

"It's defiantly hand written, and it seems to have some traces of, well, unexplainable substance. Did you say it came from the future?" he asked.

"Yeah, it has to have. And it told me to come here and find Celebi, and that's what I think we should go do!" Ash exclaimed, heading for the ladder again.

"Now hold on a second." Drew said, stopping Ash in his tracks. "Do you really think it's smart to go charging into a strange forest, looking for a strange pokemon, without even thinking about it first?" Everyone just stared at him.

"Look Drew," Brock said kindly. "We actually have been here before, and Celebi is our friend. Plus, this sort of thing always happens with Ash. That's probably how we get into those adventures Max was talking about."

Drew looked displeased, but did not argue the point any farther.

"Alright then, let's go!"

--

The whole gang finally started walking into the forest. Ash and Misty had begun one of their trademark arguments in the short distance about getting lost.

"Ash you always get us lost!" she huffed.

"Do not!" he expertly retorted.

"And so it begins." Brock said. Dawn, Drew, May, and Max all looked curiously at him.

"Do too!" Misty fired back.

"Never fails." Brock smiled.

Ten minutes later, they hadn't stopped.

"GUYS WILL YOU KNOCK IT OFF!" Max shouted. "We're here."

The two stopped and blinked at him. After about ten seconds they heard a small noise.

"Bii?"

"Celebi!" they all shouted. "Bii!" the little floating bug cheered.

"Hey Celebi, are you here to take me into the future?" Ash asked, stepping forward.

"Bi, Bi." It said, nodding.

"Alright, see you guys soon! Come on Pikachu." Pikachu started to jump onto Ash's shoulder, but was knocked back to the ground by Celebi.

"Pika!" it said angrily, it's cheeks sparking.

"Ash, I think only you are supposed to go." Misty said, picking up Pikachu.

"Oh," he said, now sounding nervous. "Bi." Celebi agreed, and then grabbed his arm. There was a blinding flash, and Ash and Celebi were gone.

"Be careful Ash." May said. Drew glanced at her sideways, almost glaring.

"Pika chuuu." Misty nodded.

"He'll be alright." She took a deep breath. "Guys, I…I have something I wanna tell you." Everyone turned to look at her, half expecting her to finally come out with her feelings for him.

"I think I know who sent that note."

--

"Biii!" Ash and Celebi popped out of a light in what looked like it must've been a city. The place was desolate, even the sky seemed darker. Buildings lay in ruin, and a single woman was standing in the middle of a square, her back to them, and her long red hair blowing in the slight breeze.

"Uh, excuse me miss? I'm Ash Ketchum, and…"

"I know who you are." She said, not turning around. Her voice sounded sad and hopeless.

"Uh, are you the one who sent the note? M.K?" he asked timidly. The woman closed her eyes, one single tear leaking out from beneath the lid.

"I am." She turned around to face him and opened her eyes. Ash had seen those eyes before.

"Misty?!" he questioned. She burst into tears and ran at him, engulfing him in a massive bear hug. He patted her awkwardly on the back.

"Oh Ash, I didn't think I would ever see you again." She backed away from him, looking him up and down.

"Why? Aren't we friends anymore?" he asked, sounding confused.

"Oh, Ash. Come with me, I have something I want to show you." She turned and began to walk away in the direction of what Ash knew to be her gym.

Silence fell as they walked, and Ash looked around, taking in the devastation around him, and the lack of people. Finally his curiosity got the better of him, and he asked.

"What, um, happened here?" Misty did not answer right away, but took a deep breath.

"The beginning of the end."

The reached the gym, or at least it must be Ash reasoned. Misty led him through the broken out door to the empty hole in the ground that had once been the amazing pool.

"Ash, Cerulean was the first strike when the war broke out." She said softly.

"War?" Ash sounded if possible, more confused. "What war."

"The war. You see, it all started when Nyandar, oh but you wouldn't know him, anyway, he took control of Team Galactic, which led to him taking control of Team Magma, then Aqua, and finally Team Rocket. With that sort of control, everyone knew it was only a matter of time before he did something terrible, so we all rallied behind the Chosen One, to stop him before he could." At this Misty stopped, beginning to shake.

"What happened Mist? Was it something bad?"

"Ash, it was the worst! Nyandar knew everyone was organizing, but he knew that without the Chosen One, it would be a pointless effort. So we set up extra security, to protect him, but none of us saw what was coming next. Nyandar did attack, but not the Chosen One. When he found out about it, he went to save her, but he never came back." She was crying fully now, with the pain of remembering.

"He, he died?" Ash asked his growing concern sounding in his voice.

"He did, and without him, the resistance was a massive failure, and well, now you can see what happened." She nodded out the broken windows.

"That's terrible, but what does it have to do with me?" Ash asked finally.

"Ash, don't you see? You were the Chosen One, you always have been, not just in the Orange Islands. Do you think every trainer meets as many legendary pokemon as you do? Of course not! You're special Ash, and that's why I need to go back with you, and stop all this."

Ash just stared at her. "I, me, I'm dead? I _die _in ten years?" he said in disbelief. She nodded, tears still streaming, though no sound came from her.

"Oh." He whimpered. And then he blacked out. Misty knelt down and scooped his limp form up.

"Alright Celebi, let's go." The little creature came down, there was a flash of light, and they were gone.

"Really Misty, you know who sent it?" Dawn asked excitedly.

"That handwriting, looked like…like mine." She said softly.

"You? But M.K. that means…" But Brock was cut off by a sudden blinding flash, and the reappearance of Ash, Celebi, and an older red-haired woman who was holding Ash. The woman looked up as Misty ran forward.

"Is he?" Misty questioned, not daring to finish her sentence. The older woman shook her head.

"No, he's just had, ah, quite a shock. Pikachu, one from you might just wake him up." Pikachu obliged.

"Pi-ka-chuuu!" "Ah!" Ash jumped up as he was shocked.

"What happened?" he asked, looking up all the worried faces.

"You fainted, and we came back to your time." he turned to look at the grown-up version of Misty.

"Well what did you expect, you told me I was dead!" he said.

"Dead?!" everyone burst out together, looking at the woman.

"That is what I've come to prevent, like I told you." She nodded slightly.

"And you are?" Drew finally asked from his spot leaning against a tree behind the group.

"I'm…" she began.

"Me." Misty finished, walking over and staring up into her own face, ten years older.

"Mm hmm." She said. "I'm Misty ten years from right now." Everyone looked back and forth between the two Misty's trying to see some flaw, but they were unsuccessful.

"So if you wrote the note you can tell us what happened." May said hopefully.

"No, I can't. I'm here to stop the event about seven years before it happens. If I were to tell you everything, it could destroy the time stream."

"But how can you stop something seven years early?" Brock asked.

"Let's just say that now is when things start happening that lead up to it. If nothing happens now, nothing will later." She glanced over at her sixteen year old self who was helping Ash up and frowned.

"Well you're going to have to tell us something." The younger Misty said angrily, with her hands on her hips. "We can't just stay here in this forest forever."

"You're right. We should head to Sinnoh. Ash is battling there, and May and Drew can go out for the Grand Festival with Dawn." Older Misty said.

"Wait a minute. We have to stay together?" Drew said incredulously. "But we're already in the Jhoto…"

"Oh Drew, we don't have any ribbons yet, and what if Ash dies all because you didn't want to travel with a group." May shot at him. Drew looked annoyed but merely shrugged and flipped his green bangs out of his face. May blushed a little at this, and older Misty suddenly looked rushed and upset.

"Ok, so we'll need to get to the ferry, Ash, May, lead the way!" she pushed the two forward, and they all started to walk along the path. Dawn turned to Max and whispered as they went.

"Oh, she's a poet too!"

**So there it is! Older Misty is now in the past, and Ash is necessary to the future! And just a note, I already have the next chap. Done so it will not be as long for an update! **

**Peace lovely reviewers! **

**STL**


	4. Pushing

**I now present...my fastest update EVER! I would like to thank all the wonderful reviews, and Kefka VI for betaing for me, though due to the fact that i want to update before i go away for a week, i was unable to follow his great advice and have uploaded this as it is. So Enjoy!**

Ch. 4 Pushing

"Where were you guys?"

The group stopped to camp that night at the edge of the forest and Misty had sent her younger self out to get the firewood. She went, grumbling and complaining all the way. When she returned all the seats by Ash where she had been hoping to sit were taken by Max on one side and May on the other. She fumed as she went to sit on the other side of Drew, who was glaring over at Ash and May as well. Brock looked up at the two and smiled a little nervously. Of course he knew they were both jealous, but what could he do about it? He knew both teens had a nasty temper, and things could get very bad, very quickly.

"Geez Mist, where did you go to wood, Viridian forest?" Ash said jokingly. May giggled, as did Dawn and the rest of the group, but Drew and Misty had only heard May.

Misty threw the wood down a little over-forcefully.

"Well you can go get it yourself next time then!" she shot at him, glaring.

"Pika-chu." The little rodent smacked itself on the head in a 'here we go again' manner. Brock began to make the fire as Ash replied.

"It was only a joke." He sounded hurt, but Misty was too upset to care.

"I think we should tell stories about what we've been doing." Said May brightly.

"Awesome idea May!" Ash agreed. Misty looked as though she would explode any second, while Drew looked like he might just mentally liquefy Ash. Older "Misty" smirked slightly.

"Well I'll go first." May began. "Johto is great! We've only entered one contest though, in Cherry Grove City. Oh, it was so beautiful there! Anyway, Drew and I had to go against each other before the finals, and his Masquierne beat my Squirtle…woops, I mean Wartortle, it evolved during that battle! Oh, but then he lost in the finals to this amazing girl named Mandy with her awesome Mareep."

"Wow that sounds great!" Dawn exclaimed. "You're going to love Sinnoh. I have one ribbon already. Course, it'll be really rough, all of us traveling together and entering the same contests." She tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"No kidding, maybe that's why we should just go back to Johto." Drew said huffily. May looked at him disapprovingly.

"We don't have to enter the same ones." She said. "Besides don't you think that Ash's life is more important than some ribbons?"

"Sure." Drew mumbled. "Ow!" he yelled out. Misty had flicked him hard on the ear. "What was that for? I said your little boyfri-"

"The fire is getting low!" Older Misty cut across him. Everyone looked up at her. "Ash, May, why don't you go get some more wood." Ash blinked at her before standing up and shrugging and May stood as well.

"Oh, and don't go all the way to Viridian now Ash!" Misty called, still sounding very agitated and glaring for the umpteenth time at her older self.

_What is she doing?! _Misty thought furiously. _Doesn't she remember how I, we, uh…anyway, feel about him! _

"Sure is strange, having all of us together again." Ash said, breaking a branch off of a small tree. May pulled it back out of his hand and tossed it away.

"Yeah, it is I suppose…" she said. She hesitated for a moment, before sighing and speaking again. "Look, Ash, don't listen to Drew. Really, it'll be fine being in Sinnoh contests, and he doesn't want you to die either."

Ash stood up, arms full of wood. "Yeah, it's sorta scary isn't it, thinking I'll be dead soon." He paused. "May…who do you think it was Misty loved that died?" May collapsed, a look of disbelief on her face.

"You have got to be kidding me right?" she wailed. She knew he was dense, but this was just crazy.

"I bet it was Rudy, or Danny." He growled.

"Ash, I don't think it was-" May began, but before she could finish her sentence the two were caught in a net, hanging ten feet off the ground.

"Gah, what the?" Ash said, but then…

"Listen, is that a twerp caught in a net I hear?"

"His pathetic voice is speaking to me loud and clear!"

"I don't have Pikachu with me." Ash shouted, interrupting the annoyingly omnipresent team rocket.

"So you can just let us down now if you don't mind." Added May. The trio appeared in front of them.

"But that little runt is practically surgically attached to you." Jessie said.

"He's back with the others." May grumbled, her face smooshed against the net.

"Oh, so now you're back huh?" James said, remarking on May's presence. "And what are you two doing in the woods alone at night?" Jessie laughed at her statement.

"We're getting firewood alright, and we'd really like to get back so if you could let…" Ash started.

"You let them go!" shouted Misty from behind Team Rocket.

"Ooh, look Jessie, the runt is back too!" James laughed.

"Runt!?" Misty yelled angrily. "That's never a good idea." Ash said, watching the scene from above.

"Gyarados, go!" A giant blue dragon materialized in front of them, and Team Rocket huddled together.

"Oh no, I forgot she had that!" James whimpered, "Hyperbeam!" Misty shouted.

"Looks like team rocket's blasting off already!"

Misty let Ash and May down from their net, but didn't face them as they stood.

"Gee thanks Mist, lucky you came looking for us." Ash said, dusting himself off.

"Yeah, well, you were taking forever, and you two have the only fire pokemon, vulpix is back with Suzie." Misty started walking, and Ash and May took off after her.

"Where were you guys?" Drew asked rather snippily as Ash, May, and Misty re-entered the camp.

"Team Rocket." May said simply. Everyone understood and went back to what they were doing. May made a move to go sit over by Drew, but older Misty was too fast for her.

"Oh May, could you come and sit over here with me? I'd love to talk about you Wartortle, and that Skitty, how cute!" she said.

May quickly went over, eyes sparkling in excitement, and planted herself between Ash and older Misty. This forced young Misty to once again take a place next to Drew, where she glared angrily at the trio.

"What is with your older self?" Drew asked her.

"I have no idea, she's crazy!" He turned away from May, Misty, and now Ash's conversation.

"You do realize you just called yourself crazy?"

"I'm not so sure I did. That woman is nothing like me. I mean just look at how she's pushing…um…" she broke off.

"Yeah." Drew said.

"Let's just say I'd never do that." Misty concluded. Drew turned back to the others, where Ash and May were now bickering.

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"That's my line." Misty mumbled sadly. Drew smirked and flicked his hair. He had a plan.

Older Misty had set up the sleeping bags that night. Drew, who was unaccustomed to sleeping outdoors was to share the tent with Dawn. Originally the plan had been Max, but she had been adamant.

"I don't care who it is, it's my tent and I'm sleeping in it!" May turned faintly red and turned back to her own bag, which older Misty had placed on the very end, as far away from the tent as possible, and next to Ash. On his other side was Brock, then Older Misty, Max, and Misty right next to the tent.

"Goodni-ight!" Older Misty chirped, dousing the fire.

--

"So, Dawn, right?" Drew said awkwardly.

"Mhmm!" Dawn said happily, brushing her dark blue hair. She was incredibly happy that they had all forgotten the 'keep Dawn away from the couples' rule.

"Right, well, goodnight, I guess." He lay down and rolled over away from her, willing the girl to go to sleep too.

"So, what's the deal with you and May?"

He blushed, unseen thankfully, and mentally smacked himself for even considering she would let this opportunity slip through her fingers.

"We're rivals, and, friends I guess. I respect her as a coordinator and she's in awe of my talents." He shrugged.

"Well aren't you just Mr. Modesty. I think there's something else going on." Dawn said.

"That's nice, you can think what ever you want Dawn."

"Don't be silly! I can see the way you look at her, and how she constantly seeks your approval. She looks at you too you know." She said thoughtfully.

Drew opened his eyes and looked back toward her.

"Can't you see her blushing like, all the time? And I also see how jealous you are when she talks to Ash." She said slyly. She was sure this would get a rise out of him. But he was more silent than she could've expected. She huffed angrily, and lay down.

"Fine you stony boy, keep your feelings inside. You'll be sorry when someone else says it first."

Drew looked down at the canvas floor. He knew she was right, but he already had a plan.

After about half an hour, he heard soft grunts coming from Dawn.

"Finally." He breathed. "Roselia…" he let out the rose handed pokemon.

"Shh, Roselia, you know the drill."

"Rose." The Roselia produced a single red rose, like always. It wondered vaguely when its master was just going to tell the girl he liked her.

"Thanks. Okay return." He stood up slowly, tip toeing to the flap and unzipped it. Dawn rolled over.

"Piplup, use Whirlpool!" she mumbled. Drew froze, hand on the zipper, until she flopped over and started snoring. Drew breathed out a sigh of relief, and proceeded outside.

As he approached May's sleeping form, he couldn't help but notice how cute she looked.

_What!? Oh wait I'm okay with that now._ He shook off his thought, but liked the next one even less.

_How did they end up so close together? _

Ash and May were inches apart, their hands nearly touching. He knelt down and rolled Ash roughly away. He grunted, but didn't wake.

Drew knelt down next to May and wrapped her fingers delicately around the rose.

"I don't even know how many of these I've given you. Go figure." He stood up, and turned to go, but froze once again.

"Drew, don't go."

_Is she still asleep?_ He thought frantically.

"Don't go I still need to train, c'mon let's battle."

He laughed quietly. "Dreaming."

"I always missed you." He grinned.

"Drew, I think I love you." He had almost made it back to the tent when he heard that.

"No way." He said, "She's asleep, just like I should be. I'm going to bed." And he zipped the flap and flopped down, May's unconscious words still filling his head.

May woke up first the next morning, which she soon realized was lucky. She looked down at her own hand, clamped around a rose that could only have come from one place.

"Drew," she muttered, blushing and twirling the flower.

"What?" a voice sounded from behind her, and she jumped and spun around, trying to hide the rose.

"Drew!" she squealed.

"So that's twice you've said that, and yet I still don't know why." He smiled and flicked his hair, a knowing look in his emerald eyes, but May was still fooled.

"Oh, uh, I was just, um, wondering if you wanted to uh…train." She invented wildly.

"You wanted to train this early in the morning?" he asked, laughing a little.

"Sure, but I uh, guess we should wait 'till after breakfast." She smiled and closed her eyes, so she didn't see Drew roll his.

"Yeah, breakfast." He offered a hand to help her up, and she went to take it, not realizing she had stuck out the hand with the rose in it.

_How stupid can I get!_

"That's nice, where'd you get that?" Drew asked, picking her up off the ground, his face a mask of calm while his mind was screaming at her. _Tell me it was me, go on do it!_

"Uh, yeah, well," she was bright red, and his green eyes pleaded with her. "You know exactly where it came from." She said with new confidence.

"I do?" It was everything he could do not to laugh.

"Yes you do mister; you gave it to me last night!"

"Are you sure it wasn't from him?" he asked, kicking at Ash.

_Why in the heck would you say that?!_

"Ash? Ha yeah right, the day's he's as romantic as you is the day Squirtle's fly!" She burst out laughing, causing Drew to smile. She clearly hadn't realized what she said.

"So, I'm romantic?" she stopped laughing abruptly, her face rivaling her bandanna in redness.

"Uh, yeah, sure…roses." She mumbled to the ground.

"Hey you two are up early; breakfast should be ready in about 20 minutes if you help." Brock said, breaking the moment and saving May from her own embarrassment.

"Yeah, I'll help!" she burst out, pushing past Drew and bounding up to Brock.

Drew just smiled…it was progress.

"Misty." Came a faint noise from below him. He looked down to see Ash with a huge grin plastered on his sleeping face. Drew's smile grew.

A lot of progress.

**Thank you for reading, i hope you enjoyed it! i'll be back in a week so peace!**

**STL**


	5. The Truth

**Seven months…that is just license for me to be shot in the fanfiction face. Wow, I literally haven't done any updating since I got to college, but it's true when they tell you if you are an NCAA athlete, that is ALL you are. But season is over and I now have nothing better to do with my life. There is no excuse for that, but hopefully this will be able to make up for it at least a little bit…so without any more waiting… **

Chapter 5: The truth

May was just finishing setting the table when the rest of the group arrived at it, rubbing their eyes.

"Good morning!" she chirped, laying down the last plate.

"May, what are you doing up so early?" the older Misty asked, looking around and seeing Brock and Drew still around the fire.

"Oh, well Drew and I just were up early, and Brock asked us to help out." She said smiling. The moment was interrupted by Ash's stomach and its trademark grumble.

"Guess that's our cue to dig in." Dawn said, making for a seat quickly, followed by Ash. Older Misty took the seat on Ash's other side, leaving her younger counterpart to make her way to the other side of the table, and a seat between Dawn and Brock.

"May where did that come from?" The meal had been going amicably, with the group talking when Dawn's observation brought the conversation to a halt.

"What?" May said, trying to sound innocent, but her red face giving her away.

"That rose? Where did you find a Rose around here?" Dawn looked sincerely confused, having not been around as long as everyone else.

"Oh we all know where May get's her Roses." Max said, pushing his glasses up on his nose.

"Yeah, Drew has been giving her_ Beautifly _those for awhile now." Brock said, making it perfectly clear that he knew the real reason for the random tokens. Both May and Drew turned a shade that would rival the flower in question.

"So, I think that's enough breakfast!" Older Misty chirped, getting up and gathering plates. "May, Ash, why don't you help me clean these up?" She started to walk off toward the stream near their camp, and the two followed.

"Drew, can't you just tell her you want her already?!" Misty hissed as they helped Brock, Dawn and Max clear the camp.

"No, can't you just tell yourself to knock it off?!" He hissed back. Misty looked up at him.

_Duh why didn't I think of that? _

Misty made her way down to the stream to find her older self thankfully alone.

_Well, but this means those two are off on their own._

She shook the thought. After all, she was on a mission.

"Hey, we need to talk." Misty said, plopping down huffily.

"Sure what about?" her older self asked innocently.

"Ash." Misty said plainly. The older one's eyes seemed to fill instantly with tears. Misty could never remember it being that easy for her to cry.

"I can't-" the older one began.

"I know you loved him, I do obviously, and if you're me then how could you have forgotten how you, I, we, uh…felt about him?" Misty was confusing herself, but the older one seemed to be getting the gist.

"I could never forget how much I care about Ash." She said sadly.

"Then why are you pushing him away from me? Why are you throwing him at her!?" Misty burst out.

"Don't you see? It's because I love him that I'm doing this. I won't let him die all over again." Older Misty whispered, tears now running freely down her face.

"Well I guess I don't see, maybe you should explain it to me." Older Misty paused, thinking.

"Maybe it's best you do know." She said. She took a deep breath. "Ash and I were engaged, and our wedding was in two days. He had just beaten Cynthia and taken over the champion league. But that was before, the war broke out. We were all involved in a resistance against Nyander, a psychopath who had been systematically taking over every organization in the regions. He was just beginning to rear his ugly head, but of course Ash was the first to stand in his way. He wanted to control the world, enslave Pokémon, and the world was a far darker place with him in control. We had formed a resistance, and Ash had a plan to end it all."

Flashback:

"_Ash, this is crazy. You can't seriously be planning on doing this." May stared at him, blue eyes wide, on the verge of tears. _

"_May, he knows what he's doing. This is Ash we're talking about. It just wouldn't be a worldwide catastrophe if Ash was at the center of it as the only one who can stop it." Misty patted the girl on the shoulder._

"_Misty, how can you be so calm about this?! You're the one who is marrying him in two days, how can you not be freaking out?!" May shook her friends hand off. "Please Ash, don't do this. If they want to help they'll come, you don't have to go looking for them. The entire resistance revolves around you; you can't go looking for danger!"_

"_Look, Misty is right May, don't worry. I'll be back tomorrow night. I'm sorry Misty I know it's horrible timing, but we can't control the schedule of insane people bent on destroying the world." He smiled a small smile and gave her a quick kiss._

"_You two are impossible! How are you joking about this? Ash, what if you don't come back. What if they find you?" May wrung her hands._

"_Look, May, I'm going, that's all there is to it. Go find Dawn and Misty's sisters. Help them finish up; it will give you something to keep your mind off it."_

_Ash walked out the door, Pikachu on his shoulder. May looked between his retreating figure and Misty. She threw her hands up in exasperation and stomped out the other direction._

"_Hey Ash!" Ash turned to see Misty running up to him._

"_Mist, what are you-?" _

"_I'm coming with you." She announced. "Don't you give me that look. You know as well as I do twice the Pokémon is twice the safety, and I have to make sure you get back in time. You're notorious for getting lost. But you should know that if anything happens to this ring, my sisters will kill you." _

"_Pi Pikachu!" the little mouse sounded its agreement with Misty's words._

"_Well I'm not going to try and stop you, it would be a hopeless task. And I know all about the death waiting for me if 'like any harm should come to the original Sapphire Cascade Badge.'" He laughed and they continued to walk toward Mt. Moon._

"_How do you even know you'll be able to find any of the legendaries up here?" Misty finally asked as they scaled the mountain side later that night. _

"_I just have a feeling Misty." He said, pulling her up onto a ledge. _

"_And how do you know they'll even want to help? What if they want us all to kill each other off so they can have the world back to themselves?" She looked at him, true concern showing on her face for the first time since he had announced this plan._

"_I don't think that could be true Misty. We're all meant to be here together, and that is why I think we'll get the help we need. This Nyander guy is a threat to them just as much as us." He smiled reassuringly. She returned it, until she spotted something over his shoulder, and it turned to a look of horror._

"_Ash DUCK!" she threw the two of them to the ground as a gigantic…something, dive bombed them."_

"_You don't think you can escape me up here with your little girlfriend do you?!" A cold, shrill voice called from on top of the thing that had attacked. _

"_No one is escaping from anything!" Ash yelled up. _

"_But of course not, Garchomp, Dragon Rage!" the Pokémon dove back at the couple standing there on the mountain._

"_Misty, move!" Ash threw Misty away from him and dove the opposite direction in the process. "Hurry, get away!" he yelled at her._

"_No way Ash, not without you. We're fighting him together!" _

"_Well isn't this precious. You know I think at the moment this is a bit of an unfair fight. I'll just even the odds shall I?" Nyander threw something small towards Misty, but it didn't stay small for long. The device expanded, encasing Misty in an intricate metal frame. She screamed as the bars released an electric charge. She then fell to the ground, panting heavily._

"_Misty! You let her go!" Ash cried, running over toward her and shouting up toward Nyander. _

"_Oh, but where is the fun in that? And I think just to make this more interesting…" Another toss, another cage, and this time a startled Pikachu found itself being deprived of energy twenty feet away. _

"_You let them go you freak! This is insane, why are you doing all of this!?" _

"_Oh my boy, insane is in the eye of the beholder. You see I have a plan, a vision for this world. No more of these silly battles, no more kids gallivanting around all their lives with their pathetic little dreams. People will finally harness Pokémon for their economic power; we will reshape this world with their power and our brains. A new era is upon us, and we no longer are in need of a "chosen one". You now have a choice Ash Ketchum, save the girl, or the Pokémon. If you pick correctly, you may even be allowed to live yourself." _

"_Ash, no! Don't you even think about giving in to this! Fight him Ash!"_

"_Pi! Pika Pi Pikachu. Chuuuu!" _

"_Tick tock my boy…come now it can't be that hard. The girl you love or the pathetic little rat?" Nyander pushed a button on his remote, and both cages began to quake with energy. Ash looked frantically toward the two most important parts of his life, each in pain._

"_Well fine then, the countdown shall begin. I do hate when explosions are necessary. So messy, well, here is your key, set one of them free. They are of course too far apart for you to try to save them both in the ten seconds I'll be giving you. Of course chances are that they'll both die anyway, and you will too. Explosions have a tendency to do that." Nyander rose into the air. _

"_Pikachupi! Pikachupi!" Pikachu shouted, pointing at Misty. His meaning was clear to Ash…save her. _

"_Goodbye buddy." He mumbled, and began to sprit toward Misty. As soon as he reached the cage however as soon as he grabbed a piece of the metal work, the surge of energy sent him flying back, his limp form thrown over the cliff tumbling into the abyss below. _

"_ASH!" _

"_Pikachu!" both of the trapped screamed in horror as they watched, unable to do a thing. Nyander lowered himself._

"_My, I do have a flair for the dramatic. Well it would've have mattered of course, who he chose, he simply had a better chance of not falling if he chose the rodent. Further away from the cliff you see. Well, that's that out of my way. No chosen one, on organized resistance, no problems. Sorry about your boyfriend dear." And with that he was rising. "Though I suppose I'll let you go see for yourself." There was a click and as he was gone, Pikachu and Misty were released._

_They both clambered as quickly as possible down toward where they had seen Ash fall. Misty came skidding to a stop as she caught up with Pikachu who had found him. She clapped her hand to her mouth, tears pouring out of her cerulean eyes. _

"_Pi, Pika, Pi-ka-chuuuuu!" Just like when Ash had been turned to stone, Pikachu shocked him repeatedly, trying in vain to wake his fallen master, but he didn't show any signs of life. When Pikachu finally gave up Misty rushed forward. She grabbed his hand, and lied down across his mangled body, releasing his Pokémon. They all cried up into the sky, a sad lament for the tragically cut down. _

"The resistance was informed of what had happened. We all swore that we would keep up our resistance, even with Ash gone, but it was impossible. May nearly lost herself completely."

Misty sat in stunned silence, and tears rolled out of both sets of identical eyes.

"So, he died because he chose you over Pikachu?" she asked, voice shaking. "Because he loved you more than his first Pokémon and best friend?"

"So now you see why I'm doing this. There is no way May would ever let him do any of that dangerous stuff. I told you how hard she was trying to stop him and he it wasn't even her wedding he was putting in jeopardy. He won't die if he never falls for us, and even better if he falls for her. Sure it'll hurt, but nothing can hurt as badly as him being dead." Misty nodded; she knew what she had to do now. And so the two Misty's headed back to the camp.

When the group reached Arborville they stopped.

"Can't you just tell me if I at least become a great Pokémon master, or at least win the Sinnoh league, you know before I die if this didn't work?"Ash asked older Misty.

"I hope you win the Sinnoh league Ash." Old Misty said with a wink. "But I'll need to go back to my own time now."

"You mean you're not coming too?" Dawn asked. Older Misty shook her head.

"I already have two badges in the Orange Islands Ash, and if she's leaving don't you think it would be safe for me to head back? I mean, I'm not really doing anything here." Max said.

"Well geez, is anyone else leaving?" Ash asked, a bit sarcastically.

"I am." Misty said quietly.

"What? But why Mist?!" Ash asked, looking surprised and hurt.

"I, I have to run the gym. If I don't go back my sisters will just turn it back into a theater." She stared at the ground as she spoke.

"But, I thought you were coming back for good." Ash said softly, almost unlike himself. Misty sniffed, trying to hide her tears.

"I'm sorry, but I can't stay. You've got May and Dawn with you, and you've got along fine without me this long." She ran off. "Goodbye Ash!" she called.

"I'll miss you." She whispered to herself.

"What's going on?" Ash snapped, turning around to confront Misty's older self, but she was already gone.

"Misty." Ash said sadly

"C'mon Ash, the blimp leaves soon. We've gotta go." Brock said kindly, putting a hand on Ash's shoulder. Ash looked down, covering his eyes with his hat.

"Yeah." He sniffed, and then began walking.

"Poor Ash." May said. Drew couldn't help but smirk.

"Yeah, too bad." He said.

'_So he really felt for the water trainer. Good, then I have nothing to worry about.' _Drew smirked again and flipped his hair as he began walking next to May. Ash stopped abruptly.

"No, you know what; I don't want to disrupt all of your lives. I'm going back to Sinnoh, alone. May, Drew, you go back to Johto." May began to protest, but Ash stopped her. "No, it's ok. She wouldn't have gone back if it wasn't safe, just like Max said."

"Sound logical to me." Drew said. May looked unconvinced, but nodded.

"But what about Brock and I? We were already in Sinnoh!" Dawn said.

"Well yeah, but I just think I need to go alone for once." Ash still hadn't looked at any of them, but they all just stared at his retreating back as he headed for the blimp.

**Wow, well once again, I'm sorry this took way tooooo long! I truly hope it won't happen ever again. I haven't updated since I got here, but swimming is over…for good ******** so expect much more frequent updates out of me!**

**STL**


	6. the fight

**So this chapter gets a tad confusing…but I think it's all important. So we'll see how it goes. I don't own Pokémon. **

Ch. 6 The Fight

Ash stared out over the rail and into the blue ocean. He had never noticed before how much the water reminded him of Misty, but she was gone now. Brock and Dawn approached his stoic figure from behind. Dawn of course lived in Sinnoh, and so had to go back. Brock was there as mostly a refusal to believe Ash truly intended to go it alone.

"Are you alright Ash?" Dawn questioned in a small voice. He only looked up from the water, not responding.

"You can't really want us to let you go on alone!" she burst out. Brock gave her a stern look, but continued on the conversation path.

"What she means is that you're part of a team Ash. You're Dawn's training partner; you can't leave her to fend for herself in her first year." He was met with a gruff "Humph!"

"Everyone else goes alone in case you haven't noticed. Gary, Drew, Kenny, Zoe, it's groups that aren't normal. You go with her since you came anyway."

"Ash, come one you can't just abandon a friend who needs you." Brock said.

"Why not, they all abandon me in the end." He said quietly before stalking off.

"Poor Ash." Brock said. "He's really taking the split hard isn't he?"

"But it was his idea to split up!" Dawn said.

"Ok, so maybe something else is making him act like this." Brock reasoned.

"Like maybe he still thinks he's going to die soon?" she said.

"Maybe." Brock shrugged. He knew darn good and well this was about Misty, but without anyway to be sure he wasn't about to bring it up. The two of them took Ash's place staring at the water.

The ship finally docked about an hour later. Brock and Dawn stood at the base of the gangplank waiting.

"He did get off right?" Dawn asked, scanning the crowed on her tip-toes, with piplup on her head. Brock looked up at the ship.

"He's giving us the slip, he's already gone."

"What?!" Dawn spun around. "You mean he just left without even saying goodbye?" her voice began to shake, and tears welled up in her sapphire eyes. Brock didn't trust himself to speak and so just nodded. Dawn turned away from the ship, bringing her hand up over her mouth.

"What if we never see him again?" she whispered, tears now streaming down her face. Brock put a comforting hand on her shoulder as the boat pulled away from the dock.

Ash watched the ship sailing away, wondering if Brock had stayed on it or if he had gone with Dawn.

"Guess it's just you and me again buddy." He mumbled. Pikachu gave a feeble "Cha." From his perch on Ash's shoulder. "Doesn't feel like the last times does it?" he reached up and patted Pikachu's head.

"Come on, we've got a badge to win."

Older Misty stared wildly around. She couldn't be sure but it looked like Celebi hadn't gone far enough forward.

"Crap, how am I supposed to know when I am?" she muttered.

"Well it's 2:30, but that really made no sense Mist." Her eye's snapped up and her hands began to shake. Slowly she turned to see Ash Ketchum standing there, rummaging in a bag.

"Ash!" she squealed. She ran and jumped on him, flinging her arms around his neck and sending them both tumbling to the ground.

"Uh, hey Misty." He said, looking up at her with that stupid grin she loved so much.

Ash stomped miserably through the forest. Pikachu just stared up at him, having chosen to walk.

"Well buddy this is faster at least, I can see Sunnyshore through the trees already."

"Pi." Was the rodent's weak reply. Ash's stomach rumbled loudly. "Guess I should've learned to cook huh?" he laughed once. Twenty minutes later he was in the Pokémon center, watching as his team ate.

"Ash Ketchum?" the Nurse joy came over and he looked up.

"Yes?"

"You have a video message on that phone there." Confused as he was, he got up and flicked on the screen to see Brocks face.

"Ash, this is likely to be the last time we can get a hold of you, but just so you know, Dawn is wandering around Sinnoh. She said she was going to try to catch up with Kenny or Zoe until she finds out how they know where contests are held. May and Drew arrived back in Johto, and Misty is back at her gym. I'm going back to Suzie's. We'll all miss you, and hope that you change your mind."

The screen went black. "Well I guess it's just life as usual for everyone else." Ash sighed.

Nine years later, December 31st

"Has it not occurred to anyone that it's weird to be having a party at Ash's house without him?" Dawn looked around the room waiting for an answer to her question. She may have known Ash the least amount of time, but she had had the least amount of time to adjust to him not being around.

"We've always had it here." Brock said matter of factly.

"Besides, we only know where he is when he turns up for championships." May said. She sounded sad, but then she generally sounded sad these days. The reason for this was revealed as the minutes to midnight ticked by and the only couple in the room became more and more intertwined as they prepared for their kiss.

"Can't you do that somewhere else?" Tracey piped up from his place on the sofa next to them. The red-headed girl turned to face him, sea colored eyes flashing. "Right, sorry, don't hit me Misty." He cowered back.

"Maybe we should just go to the other room." The boy whom she was intertwined with spoke.

"How are we supposed to know when it's the New Year then Drew?" she snapped. He sighed.

"That's a good point, but there is a T.V. in uh, Ash's room." He hesitated on the end of the sentence as he knew Misty was prone to explode at any specific mention of their absent friend. Dawn had only gone unscathed earlier because Drew had her otherwise occupied.

"Well I'm not moving." She said in a normal voice, earning stares from the on-lookers.

"Uh, thirty seconds guys." Brock said, handing out flutes of sparkling cider. Everyone had one, and they began to count down.

"10…9…8…7…6…" Misty snaked her arms around Drew's neck while his wrapped around her waist.

"5…4…3…2…" BANG! The door flew open with a crash.

"Happy New Year Guys!" The sound of glass shattering sounded through the room as May, Dawn, and Brock dropped their glasses. Then the sound of a kiss coming to an abrupt end.

"Ash?" May was the first to choke out the name, but his eyes weren't on her. He saw only the two whose hair could be a carrot. (Green and orange? No? Yeah, I just couldn't come up with anything better…and thought it was sorta funny. It's not)

"Uh, hey guys." Ash said, all his previous enthusiasm gone.

"Ash, where have you been? We haven't seen or heard from you since the Champion League." Dawn demanded. Misty continued to glare at him, and kept hold of Drew, though his hands had instantly dropped from her waist.

"Just training. I've been around Mt. Moon." His eyes darted between May, Drew, and Misty. "I was actually hoping to make it down to Cerulean City, but I got caught up." At this Misty huffed and strode out the back door, oblivious to the falling snow.

"Well, don't you think you should go after her?" May snapped. Both Ash and Drew took a step toward the door, then stopped and stared at each other. May made a weird gurgling noise and then slumped into a chair, hiding her face.

"Sorry Drew, but I really need to talk to her." Ash said, taking another step.

"Your funeral." Drew muttered, moving aside. Ash disappeared into the dark.

"Misty!" Ash called out into the snow filled yard.

"Go away Ash, you're good at that!" she called back. He followed the sound of her voice back to the corner by the fence.

"Mist, come on."

"Don't call me that Ash." She spun around, eyes sparkling in the dark.

"Don't you try and play the victim here Misty." He hissed.

"And why not? You're the one who disappears."

"And you're the one who keeps going home!" she had been about to retort, but stopped, mouth agape. "That's right Misty. You're the one who always left me out on my own."

"On your own!? Brock, May, Max, Dawn, what were they?"

"You know what I mean! The forest Misty!" She looked away.

"Why would you bring that up, that was nine years ago?" she said softly, all anger forgotten.

"It could have been fifty years Mist, it wouldn't change anything."

"Ash, you can't understand what happened. It was for your own good."

"For my own good. Is that it? You're not actually going to tell me anything?"

"I can't. You have no clue how much I want to tell you, but I can't, and you know why."

"Does Drew know? Is that how you lured him away from May, you told him your little sob story and he felt sorry for you?" Ash sounded more hurt than angry, but it was hard to tell. "Or are you too wrapped up in your own little world to notice how hurt your friend is?"

"Of course I can see it Ash, I'm not _you_! I can actually notice people's feelings; I'm not oblivious to the world. And Drew and May wasn't my fault, it was yours. That's right Ash, they fought over you, not me, you. You may have been out on your own Ash, but you still affected us all!"

"You know what Misty, you're right. There is a lot I can't know and even more I don't want to. I don't see any reason to be around. Why don't you just get back, I'm sure your boyfriend will be wondering where you are." He turned around.

"Well fine Ash, just walk away again!" she shouted.

"Tell them I said goodbye, they deserve it." Ash sneered, and he walked out the gate, leaving her in the snow.

Her glare faded. "What did I just do?"

**So…it's sorta short, and mostly just arguing. Ash is alive though! But of course that isn't the end, she didn't go far enough for us to know for sure!! But it takes a break here so that's just that. I tried to explain a little bit of how Misty and Drew ended up together, but it's rather vague I know. I dunno I just sorta like the idea of them being together if Ash and May are…but that in no way makes me an Advanceshipper or a Waterflowershipper…but just because I don't support it doesn't mean I can't write it. Any who…next chappie soon, and review please and thank you!!**

**STL**


	7. The Big Day

**Yes there is another time skip…my story, my universe. Not my character's however, seeing as I don't own Pokémon.**

**Ch. 7 The big day**

3 months later…

"I can't believe I'm doing this, I don't have time for a sit down lunch." Misty mumbled to herself as she walked away from the gym. Something about all this felt familiar. Still, the day she had guessed it would happen was coming closer and closer and everything still seemed ok. No war was breaking out, no freak named Nyander was anywhere near them, and most of all Ash was still safe.

"Of course I guess I'll see how safe later though." She looked down at the letter in her hand. "If anything happens today I swear I will never forgive myself."

She was on her way to meet with Drew. It was a relationship it pained her to keep up. She could see how much it was hurting everyone around her, especially May, but it was the only way to be sure. She half wished May would just get with Ash, she would be the protective one, but that would just make everything worse. Besides, wouldn't they just use May to get to him? He was better off alone and May would just have to suffer. Sure she could've ended things and been alone herself. May and Drew could make up and get on with their lives, but she knew she couldn't keep herself from Ash then. Her thoughts were cut off by her name being called.

"Misty, over here. What took you so long?" Drew gave a lazy wave to motion her over to the café.

"Sorry, I got caught up. I've still got to get back, but this is important after all." She smiled.

"It's more important than you think Mist…y." she shuttered involuntarily. Only Ash was ever allowed to call her Mist.

"And why is that?" she asked, trying to act like nothing happened.

"Well this isn't exactly what I had in mind, but time's not on our side. Sorry." The mention of time being against her had again caused Misty to react.

"Anyway Misty, I know this didn't start under the best of circumstances." Drew began, putting his hands into his pockets.

"Why are you bringing all this stuff up Drew, can't we just have lunch without me killing you?" Misty looked around, hoping to see a waiter.

"Sorry, but Misty I didn't' want to come here to have lunch. We're both straight forward people so I'm just gonna do this."

'_Oh maybe he's going to break up with me. Better work on acting upset. Just think of what it can mean for Ash, that should do it.' _Misty thought. He brought his hands out of his pockets and rolled a pokeball across the table.

"Just open it, over the table." Drew said.

"Over the table, but, oh." She stopped dead as a small sparkling something rolled out. She picked up the ring. It was delicate and gold, with a medium sized round-cut diamond glittering up at her. She fought back the vision of the ring she had seen nine years ago on herself from now's future and she succeeded.

"Well, yes or no?" he looked entirely unconcerned.

"Yes." She whispered. She began to cry, hoping the tears could be disguised as tears of joy.

"Wow really?" Drew stared at her. "You really just said yes?" he was smiling now, but it faltered at her tears. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm just…happy." She laughed to help emphasize her point. She slid the ring onto her finger and tested it's sparkle in the light.

"Well I guess my time's up. Duty calls and I'm sure I can think of a few people who would be excited to hear about this." Drew stood up and offered Misty his hand. He pulled her up into a kiss. "We can talk about this more later. Don't keep those young trainers waiting." He whispered into her ear.

"Right, bye Drew." She said. She waved and started to walk back to the gym.

"I can't believe it." She said to herself, staring down at her ring. "It was never supposed to get this far. What am I doing?"

"You know the first sign of insanity is talking to yourself." Misty froze mid stride.

"No."

**Short chapter…great cliffhanger. Sorry about that but hey I'm the author and that's how I say it goes ;p (I'm doing a lot of that this chapter huh? Lol oh well!)**

**STL**


	8. Rescue?

**Four chapters in less than a month!!!!!!!!! In the immortal words of London Tipton YAY ME!! (Too much Disney channel is not healthy and I apologize) Pokémon is not mine or else time wouldn't have been impossibly frozen and also progressing. **

Ch. 8-Rescue

She knew she should run. Run away and never look back. But she couldn't move.

"Well you shouldn't eavesdrop. It isn't polite." She said coolly, trying to hide her fear.

"I'm so sorry. Manners are something I have not had to have in awhile. But perhaps we can start over if you'll turn around." She turned slowly on the spot.

"Ok, let's start with who are you?"

"I, my dear, am Nyander. And you have something I want." Misty stared, her brain screamed at her to move, but she was stuck. "You see time has caught up with you, and now things will go my way. In about fifteen seconds someone important to you is going to come around that corner and see this. The chosen one is linked to you, and judging by that ring I'd say that I was right." Misty looked at the corner.

'I've stayed away from him for months, years…why today?' she thought desperately.

"Times up." He said. They both stared at the corner, but no one came. Ten more seconds, then thirty.

"What is going on here dear? You're knight in shining armor should've come by now."

Misty glared at him. "I don't know how you know about time, but you know nothing about me or my life." Nyander suddenly grabbed her wrist and twisted her around. She hissed in pain.

"Now you listen to me missy. I have spent years planning this. I know more legends and prophesy than you even thought could exist. They all say the same thing. You, the red haired beauty, though I lose the term loosely now, are the chosen one's most treasured possession. You are the key to bringing him down. Now, where is he!?"

"I don't know who you are talking about, but my fiancé is no chosen one, I don't even know that guy, so just back off!" Misty kicked him hard in the shin.

"No!" Nyander shrieked, pulling her harder. Something popped in her arm and she screamed in pain.

"I will have my way little girl, but first you will pay. If you're not that important as you say, then no one will miss you."

May wasn't entirely sure what she was doing in Cerulean City today. Honestly, she was wandering Kanto entering contests, but she ended up here most of the time. She thought it was probably her subconscious wanting her to talk to Drew. She sighed forlornly as she rounded a corner, staring at the sidewalk.

"…no one will miss you!" May's head snapped up and she stopped walking. She watched the struggle between a man and a red-head girl.

"Misty?" May breathed. Her eyes grew wide and scared, and Misty's roved up to meet hers.

"MMLP!" but too late. Before she could react the car the man had thrown Misty into was gone. It took a good thirty seconds until May's brain kicked in.

"Oh no, I've got to go find someone, I've got to…" she was speaking out loud, but then a thought occurred to her.

'No May, isn't this what you wanted? Misty's out of the way, he can be yours again.'

"No!" she shouted to the street. "No, that's not who I am. I've got to find help." And she started running off as fast as she could.

She stopped, out of breath, in the lobby of Misty's gym.

"May? What are you doing here?" Drew sounded shocked as he looked at the panting girl in front of him.

"Misty…she…"

"Look May, I'm sorry. I hope you'll still be at the wedding, it-"

"What are you talking about?" May had caught her breath now, and was speaking quickly.

"Aren't you here about, May what's wrong?"

"Some guy, uh, took her. He was holding her funny and then, into a black car, and they were gone." Drew grabbed May and shook her.

"Where did they go?" he asked.

"How should I know? All I know is that we need to help and…" she lowered her voice. "We need to call him Drew." He let her go, staring at her. "You know it's true, he's the best one to help." Drew closed his eyes, looking annoyed.

'It's _always_ him!'

"You do it, you're the only one with the number." May scrambled to pull out her Pokegear which she had acquired in Johto and pushed the speed dial button "2".

"May? What's up?" Ash's voice came out of the device.

"Ash, there's a problem. It's Misty." There was a click. May stared at Drew, both at a loss for words. The front door banged open. (ignore this line thing down here)

"That was fast." Drew muttered.

"May, what happened?" Ash said, coming up in front of them. He eyed Drew suspiciously.

"How did you get here so fast?" Drew asked, full of his own suspicion.

"I was coming to see Misty. Did she not tell you?" he said. "Where is she?" Drew looked to May and nudged her.

"Oh, uh, ok I was walking down the street and there was this scuffle, and I heard a yell, and I looked up, and it was Misty. The guy, and the car, and she was gone." She looked between the two men, terrified of how they would react. Ash however simply turned to leave. Drew ran after him.

"What the hell is going on?" Drew demanded while rummaging around for his pokeballs.

"How am I supposed to know, I haven't been here, so why don't you tell me what's going on? Let's go Charizard!" Ash released his most powerful partner and started to climb up on his back. "Well lover boy, aren't you coming?" Drew scowled.

"I have my own ride thanks." He released his Flygon.

"Whatever, let's go." Ash took off, Drew close behind him.

"What are you doing anyway?" Drew called. "You've seen her ten minutes out of the last nine years."

"She's my best friend, what do you want me to do, let her get hurt?"

"You are the worst best friend ever, but I care enough about my fiancé to accept all the help I can get."

Ash slid sideways off Charizard a little bit.

"Did you say what I think you said?"

"Focus Ash, there's the car." Drew pointed down below them.

"Alright, we dive on it, get her out of there and go on our merry way."

"Ash, you idiot, think for once. If we attack, chances are we'll hurt more than that guy. Even if we do get her out, he'll most likely come after her again. If we follow him we can stop whatever he's doing." Ash scowled.

"Alright, yeah." They continued to glide above the car in silence, following it to an out of the way complex.

"Alright girl, I'll give you one last chance. Tell me what you did!" Nyander slapped Misty across the face, but she continued to stare at him.

"I told you, you idiot, I must've been taken back to the wrong time because I don't know anything about what was supposed to happen!"

"But you did go back! You changed something, but you stupid girl, all you did was ruin your own life."

"It will be worth it when you're stopped."

"That is where you are wrong. It's a pity you won't live to see my new world. I do hope he tries to rescue you though, it would make my life so much easier."

"He won't." she sighed.

"Pity." He walked out of the room leaving Misty alone.

"Ash, you had better stay where you are." She said.

"So now what do we do, oh brilliant one?" Ash asked Drew sarcastically.

"Alright, alright, Mr. Chosen One, you have more experience with this sort of thing, so you can take the lead." Ash grimaced.

"Ah, this is usually fun. Ok, Charizard let's get this door out of the way."

"Rawr!" a huge wall of fire was unleashed on the poor unsuspecting door.

"Flygon, use dragon breath." Drew commanded. Within seconds the door had been reduced to a powder.

"Alright that worked, c'mon. He'll be holding her somewhere."

"Oh brilliant deduction, I'm so glad you came along." Drew rolled his eyes. Ash glared at him as he returned his Charizard. He turned to run off down the hall. Drew mimicked his actions, returning his Flygon and running after him.

Misty stared around her cell. There had to be a way out of here. No one would be coming for her she was sure so it was get herself out or wait to die.

She dug around in her pockets. "C'mon, c'mon, there has to be something, a ha!" Nyander had taken her Pokémon but he hadn't taken her back up bobby pin.

"Some super villain, putting me in a cell with actual bars." She set to work trying to free herself.

"So we're lost, aren't we?" Drew said. He and Ash stopped in a hallway and Ash stared around it.

"We are not lost; I'm just not sure where we are exactly."

"You are right where you need to be." Ash and Drew turned quickly.

"Who are you?" Ash demanded.

"And she told me she didn't know you. What a liar that girl is. I was just on my way to dispose of her if you care to join. Only now am I realizing I should have gone for the pretty little brunette too when she saw me." Drew growled involuntarily at this. "You are all sneaky, but it is no matter, I've got you here anyway."

Nyander pulled out a pokeball just as Ash and Drew reached for their own.

"Ash! What are you doing?!" Misty's shout rang through the gigantic hall and all three men turned to see her standing horrified in a doorway.

"Why you resourceful little whelp. Well it will make it all the better for me to dispose of them in front of you." He released his pride and joy, Zapdos. "Dispose of them." He commanded.

"Pikachu, thunder!" Ash shouted in a desperate attempt to stop the powerful surge of electricity heading straight for them.

"NO!" Misty ran at the pair of them, Ash unaware and Drew horror struck. There was a flash of blue and yellow as the attacks went off.

"Misty no, what are you…" But she was already in midair, tackling Ash into Drew and into the wall. Pikachu had managed to repel most of the attack, sending the mass of it toward Nyander himself. He shrieked in the face of the impending attack, unable to move and crumpled to the ground. The electricity in the air crackled a few times before finally dissipating. Ash and Drew each raised their heads slowly, looking at the scene, the destroyed hallway, Nyander's limp form, and…

"Misty?"

"May?!"

So much jumping around, and a bit of a rushed climax I'm thinking, but yeah we'll just see where this keeps going, I'm losing touch with it but I'm trying to keep focused on the story. Eh, so yeah.

STL


	9. Goodbye little duck

Sorry about the delay, I'm not really sure where I want to go with this and battle scenes are not my friends. And so we continue…

Ch. 9

Misty wasn't entirely sure what was going on. Every inch of her hurt, a lot. Something warm was pushing on her arm, and there was a dull buzzing all around her. She tried to open her eyes but she couldn't do it. As she gave up the buzzing cleared up into voices.

"…don't know what she's doing here! You got her into this, you and your stupid hero complex!"

"Well you're the one who wanted to follow first and blast later. It's later, are you satisfied now? Shouldn't you be more concerned about her anyway? You're not marrying _her_ ya know."

Who was _her_? There weren't any others around that Ash and Drew would be talking about that like except for… Misty's eyes shot open.

"Misty! Don't move." The warm thing on her arm pushed down harder and she realized it was a hand, Ash's hand.

"Ash, what? What's going on? Where is May? What about Drew?" Ash gave a sniff that sound suspiciously like he had been crying.

"Misty calm down, just stay still, you might be hurt." he said softly. Then he glared at a point somewhere behind her.

"I'm fine Ash, I want to see what's going on." She said starting to sit up. "I heard you say something about May." Of course they hadn't said May specifically but it wasn't hard to figure out. She froze in her sitting pose, starring at what Ash had been glaring at. There was May alright, and Drew. He was hovering protectively over her, and she looked far worse for the wear.

"Wha, what happened?" Misty stammered.

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Ash mumbled. Drew looked up at her, the tears he was trying to hide obvious in his shimmering green eyes.

"There were too many powerful attacks. They collided, and we all got caught in the cross fire. Some of us more than others." Misty looked mournfully toward May, but Drew shook his head.

"No, him." He inclined his head the other way. Misty shifted slightly so she could take in the scene but Ash blocked her way.

"Do you really think she needs to be looking at that?" He snapped.

"Ash, seriously?" she said, pushing around him. He relented with an annoyed sound and she saw it. Nyander slumped on the ground, chunks of the building piled around him, and his limbs at odd angles.

"Is he…you know?" she whispered.

"We don't know, we haven't checked." Ash said.

"Well don't you think you should?" she said indignantly.

"We've got more important things to worry about." Drew said.

"Ok fine, so we sit here and wait for one of them to wake up? Drew, stop being an idiot we need to get her out of here and find help." Misty said. She started to stand up, and Ash jumped to his feet. Lucky for her, because she shook, stumbled, and fell back into his arms.

"You probably broke your leg." Ash said, pulling up toward himself. "Or something. Either way, you're not walking out of here on your own." She scowled at him and he looked at her apologetically. "Here, I'll carry you on my back." Misty began to protest, but she had little choice in the matter as Ash swung her up across his back. Drew scooped May up, carrying her bridal style, and they began to pick their way around debris to get out of the fortress.

"Doesn't this seem a little backward?" Misty mumbled into Ash's shoulder.

"Did you really think it wouldn't end up this way Misty?" he asked.

"Yes. I was supposed to protect you from this."

"How did we get in here?" Drew asked, stopping at a crossing and staring around.

"Like I remember?" Ash retorted.

"Are you _actually_ admitting you're lost and don't know where you're going?" Misty said in surprise.

"I've grown up a lot Mist. Ten years can do that to a person."

"You don't need to tell me that." She said. Drew gave them a sidelong glance. He called her Mist, and she hadn't said a word against it. His eyes dropped back to the unconscious brunette in his arms, a look of pain etching his face.

"I think we should go this way anyway." Drew said, turning toward the left.

They walked along in silence now, all looking at anything but each other.

"I should have guessed you be no better with direction than Ash. Maybe it's just a male thing." Misty hissed at Drew after twenty minutes of wandering the halls.

"Misty, we don't need that right now." Ash said quietly. Misty glared down at him.

"Yeah, what we need is to get out of here. That freak was bound to have helper-watch out!" As though her statement had been the invitation they were waiting for, about a dozen goons descended on the group. There was a massive flash of light as they each released a Pokémon, blocking the way.

"I was wondering when I was going to get to battle." Ash said, setting Misty gingerly down, and pulling out two pokeballs.

"You cannot be serious." Misty and Drew said together, looking at him incredulously. Drew still held onto May, who had yet to awaken. On the contrary her heartbeats were slowing and her breath was coming in shallower with each passing minute.

"Well, you can't take them alone Ash, I'm going to help you." Misty said, enlarging two pokeballs of her own.

"Torkal, Bulbasaur, let's go!" Ash called out as he released his pokemon.

"Gyarados, Corsola…no!" Gyarados came out just fine, but instead of her tough little Corsola Misty got her Psyduck.

"There's no time, just go with it. Drew, get her out of the way!" Ash shouted, and just in time, as all of the goons chose this moment to unleash a flurry of attacks, including rock throw, thundershock, water gun, razor leaf, and ice beam.

"Torkal, Fire spin!" a huge cyclone of fire erupted in front of them, blocking most of the attacks.

"Gyrados, Dragon Rage!" Misty commanded. She tried to take a step forward and winced in pain. Ash hesitated, looking like he was deciding whether or not to run to her. That hesitation was enough.

"Bulb!" "Tor!" Ash's two pokemon had been hit by attacks from the goons, who were now advancing. Debris was falling all around them.

"Ash, this is too much!" Drew called from the corner.

"Don't you think I know that?!" Ash called back. At that exact moment a hail of small pebbles rained down on Ash, Misty and their Pokemon. They managed to dodge most of them, all except for Psyduck, who caught a large piece right in the head.

"They're coming Ash! Gyrados, Surf!" Misty interjected, but the water from her most powerful Pokemon's attack was disapated, and the goons were inches from them.

"Psy yi…duck!" Everything stopped. Misty brought her face back out from the shield of her arms. She stared open mouthed at the goons and their pokemon who were floating in mid air, along with all the debris, surrounded by a purplish glow.

"Psyduck?" she asked, looking down at the little duck.

"Psy." It replied. "Psy yi, duck."

"I think he wants us to go." She said, looking around at Ash and Drew.

"Well, you don't have to tell me twice." Drew said, starting off along the hallway, trying not to jostle May as he picked his way across the debris.

"Misty, come on." Ash said, swinging her back up on his back.

"No Ash, I can't leave him!" she protested.

"Misty, if you return him then they'll be able to get at us!" he insisted, starting to walk forward. She started to hit him as hard as she could.

"No Ash, no!" she protested, her voice breaking. "No, I can't leave him!"

"Psyduck, Psy!" The small duck seemed to be encouraging her, and she looked back at him, tears swimming in her teal eyes.

"Psyduck." She whispered.

"Psy." Ash stumbled slightly.

"Misty, he's pushing me." Ash said. Misty stared at her pokemon.

"Goodbye Psyduck." She whispered. Ash took off running now, catching up with Drew at the end of the hall. They all gave Psyduck one last look, and it nodded. The goons and debris all fell to the ground with an echoing crash, and they couldn't see anything anymore.

Misty sniffed and buried her face in Ash's shoulder.

"C'mon Drew." Ash mumbled. "I think I see a door up there."

Ooo, sad. And not as much battle as I was trying for, but like I said, battles are so not my thing. Hope you still enjoyed it.


End file.
